5 PDC darts players under most pressure to perform well at upcoming tournaments

We are approaching the mid-way point of the year on the darts calendar, meaning there are some vital opportunities for players coming up.

The World Matchplay is just a few weeks away, and is an opportunity for players that qualify to get some major money added to their ooM totals.

The gaps in seeding will also begin to expand, so even in smaller tournaments like Players Championship events, there's pressure on certain players to step it up before they fall back.

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Darts players under the most pressure to perform in coming months

Let's go over some of the main players that need to step up to the ocassion in the coming weeks.

Joe Cullen

As it stands, Cullen will qualify for the World Matchplay, but he'll have to play a lot better than he's played recently to pick up any significant prize money.

Cullen was a semifinalist in 2023, so he's made it far before, but he'll need one of his best efforts of the year to go far in the high-leg game format that the World Matchplay provides.

He hasn't been consistent enough on the Euro Tour or at Players Championship events recently, so a run at the Matchplay can give allow Cullen to have a breif sigh of relief.

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Michael Smith

Smith is just two and a half years off his first PDC WC from 2023.

He's had his moments since then, but failed to make the Premier League in 2025 and hasn't done much outside of a couple of semifinalist and quarterfinal appearances in Players Championship events.

Smith made the semifinal at the World Matchplay last year, but now finds himself out of the seeding.

It'll take a surge in ranked events in a couple of weeks to make the Matchplay in 2025, which Smith could use as an opportunity to get back into elite form which would make him one of the best players in the world.

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William O'Connor

This name might come as a surprise, but it's about time O'Connor starts making some noise.

He's been a challenger at the Premier League and has hovered from as high as 36th in the world, to as low as 52nd in the world over the past six years.

The Magpie has struggled to find consistency, and only has one career title, which was at Players Championship 13 in 2019.

O'Connor's best chances to get into higher seeding and to qualify for better TV tournaments this year might have to be through more Players Championship events, so those will be crucial in unlocking qualification, even for Euro Tour events.

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Raymond van Barneveld

Barney's career on tour may be winding down, but he's still in a position to compete on desirable stages.

RVB's best performance in an event/tournament in 2025 was a quaterfinal appearance in a Players Championship event, but that won't be enough to maintain the seeding he has been fortunate enough to stay in despite some of his recent struggles.

There's only so much you can expect out of a veteran and all-time great like Barney, but the pressure is on if he wants to remain a competitor that qualifies for the big PDC tournaments.

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Ricardo Pietreczko

Ricardo has only been on tour for a couple of years, but a great individual performance for Germany at the World Cup of Darts showed darts fans on a big stage what his ceiling could be.

He hasn't had any major runs in any tournaments in 2025, so it's about time he makes some semifinal/final runs in tournaments.

He's another player who stuggles to find week to week consistency, and will look to return closer to his 2024 tour form that includes a couple of semifinal/final apperances on the Euro Tour, and a quaterfinal appearance at the European Championship.

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